


Smooth Darkness

by SAMCROeater



Series: MCU [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SAMCROeater/pseuds/SAMCROeater
Relationships: Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s)
Series: MCU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190117
Comments: 2





	1. The Cold Kiss

Violet walked up to the front of the line at the cafe when she was finally next. She’d slept through her alarm and she was now running very late. Thankfully, her boss was pretty understanding, and because she was such a great journalist, gave her quite the leniency. She smiled at the barista, someone she knew pretty well because she was in literally every day unless she got sick. 

“Hey, Alma. Can I get my usual? And an extra donut? I was up all night finishing a story and I need the boost.”  
“There’s only one more donut left at the moment, but there’s a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls. Do you want one of those instead?”  
“Yeah, that’ll work. How’s the girlfriend?”  
“She’s good. She got that promotion she was gunning for. And it came with a great bonus and raise.”  
“Good for her! We’ve gotta celebrate. Drinks on me?”  
“Not weekend work for you?”  
“I’ll give you a call when I have a chance to look.”   
“Sounds good.” 

She stepped back while the person behind stepped up to give their order, answering her phone when it went off. 

“Hello?”  
“Is this Ms. Clarke?”  
“This is her. Who may I ask is calling?”  
“It’s Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s assistant. I’m returning your call from the other day.”  
“Yes, Ms. Potts. Thank you for calling. I know he gets a million people asking for interviews, but the interview I wanna do, genuinely has nothing to do with his business and everything to do with him. The magazine wants to do a special edition for his birthday and to honor his parents and it would be amazing if he would agree to allow me to interview him. Whenever he has time and wherever he wants to do the interview if he agrees.”  
“He actually got ahold of some of your stories and he agreed to do an interview. He was hoping that you would be able to conduct the interview at his home in Malibu. This weekend.”  
“Oh wow. So soon? I won’t pretend I’m not excited for this, but this weekend is very soon.”  
“I know. I tried to get that across to him, but he insists on it. In fact, he’s willing to fly you out if you can’t afford a last-minute plane ticket. And put you up somewhere.”  
“Oh wow. I’ll have to move some things around, but I’ll be there. Tell him I said thank you for doing this and if something changes, please give me a call?”  
“I will. I have your number. Obviously.”  
“Thank you, Ms. Potts. I really appreciate this.”  
“It’s no problem. Oh. Before I forget, Tony wants you to bring a cocktail dress to wear to a party.”  
“A cocktail dress? I don’t have one anymore. I get rid of my clothes every year for charity.”  
“Would you like one bought for you?”  
“Please don’t do that. I will figure it out. Thank you. I’ve gotta get to work. Thank you again.”

She hung up once Pepper did, sighing deeply before grabbing her order, going back to her car, and driving to work. She had a lot to think about at the moment and limited brain capacity to do so. Especially without her morning coffee. 

\----------

Violet yawned deeply as she stretched at her desk, letting a moan of relief when her back popped in a couple different places. She cracked her neck before getting back to her work. She was working on a piece about the orphanage that was just built. It took a few hours, but she finally got it done. She sent it off to the editor before shutting down her computer and making sure that all of her stuff was in her purse before leaving. As she’d done the last few months, she was the last one in the building, besides the cleaning crew. She walked outside, covering her mouth as she yawned again, enjoying the cold night air. 

“Ms. Clarke?”

She looked over to see someone standing by a car, watching her. She recognized him as someone that always around Tony Stark. But she couldn’t remember his name at the moment. She knew his name, but she couldn’t remember it. 

“I was asked to pick you up and bring you to the airport. Are you ready to go to Malibu?”  
“You’re Tony’s bodyguard and he has you picking up people? And my bags aren’t in my car.”  
“We can stop by your apartment and get whatever you need. But the plane’s waiting for us.”

She was too tired to argue, going over to the car and climbing into the backseat. She was surprised at how spacious the car was considering how small it looked from the outside. She glanced around at the interior as the guy got into the passenger’s seat. And that’s when it dawned on her. 

“Happy. Your name is Happy.”  
“Yes, it is. I’m surprised you remembered.”  
“I almost didn’t, actually. I’ve been working overtime lately, so I’m exhausted by the time I leave. Sometimes, I forget my own name.”  
“I’m sure you get this all the time, but I’ve read your stories and I love your work.”  
“I do, but it’s always nice to hear that people like what I do. So thank you.”  
“My favorite is the one you did on Steve Rogers. He sounds like an amazing guy.”  
“Thank you. I just wish I could get an interview with him too. But I’ve never been able to. Although, I get why he wouldn’t. He’s lost so much and so much has changed. But that interview with Peggy Carter helped quite a bit. It was nice to get that kind of perspective on him.”  
“Can I ask what your latest story is?”  
“Sure. It’s on that new orphanage that was built last month. The couple that run it have a criminal background, but it gives them a unique perspective on that kind of thing. They’re interesting people that are doing a really good thing. It was a fun story to do. I just sent it off to the editor tonight.”  
“I can’t wait to read it.”

She smiled at him in the rearview mirror before relaxing back against the seat. Though that proved to be the wrong thing to do because she fell asleep not too long after that. She fell asleep and no matter how hard Happy tried, she wouldn’t wake up. Meaning that Happy had to grab her keys to get her bags. She even slept through being carried onto the plane and set down in the bed in the back of Tony’s private plane. She’d always been a deep sleeper, able to sleep through anything. When she woke up hours later, the sun was shining when she opened the window cover and she had to shield her eyes from the blinding light. She looked over when Happy came in. He was smiling as he carried in some coffee. 

“You’re awake. Good. Welcome to Malibu. You’re a deep sleeper.”

She yawned deeply, thanking him for the coffee when he handed it over, taking a drink from the cup. 

“Yeah. I have sleep apnea. This is really good coffee.”  
“Yeah. Tony sources from Columbia and has a specific way of grinding it that he likes to have put everywhere. And your bags are over here by the door. I’m sorry for taking your keys from your purse, but I couldn’t wake you up to save my life and we had to go. But I promise that I grabbed the bags that had your clothes, your work stuff, and your breathing machine. And it was all in a professional capacity.”

She nodded at him with a sleepy smile. 

“It’s alright. I’m sorry you had to do that. But thank you for grabbing my machine. It would’ve been forgotten otherwise.”  
“You’re welcome. We’re landing at the hangar now. You’ll be staying at Tony’s place.”  
“Wait. What? I booked a hotel room.”  
“I know. But he canceled the room and has you with him. He thought it would be easier to have direct access to him.”  
“You mean he wanted to have direct access to me because he wants to sleep with me? I know his reputation. I’ll call and book the room again. I’m not that kind of girl.”  
“Alright. I’ll let him know. We can go whenever you’re ready.”

It was another hour and a half before Violet was inside Tony Stark’s house. She was a bit frustrated that she’d made the reservation again only to be told that Tony wouldn’t allow her to stay at the hotel. And every hotel had said the same thing. So when Tony decided to show his face, she was pretty pissed off. He came walking up from the basement with Pepper, who was trying to get him to take some business seriously, while he was joking around and being an ass with her. 

“And there’s my guest of honor. Violet Grace Clarke. You, my beautiful journalist, have captured my interest. I was gonna say no to this interview until I read your work, and then I had to say yes. You have outed your parents as your first story on the paper and are the only journalist that actually tells the truth and treats people right. And I’m curious. How do you do it? How do you do the one thing no journalist has ever done and be a decent human being?”  
“Because I wanna be a journalist that people actually want to talk to without worrying about being slandered. And will you please allow me to stay in a hotel? I can pay for one just fine and I really don’t want people thinking I slept with you to get this interview. And that’s exactly what people will think if I stay in your house.”  
“Why would you wanna stay in a hotel? It’s less money if you stay with me. Plus, I wanna be able to pick your brain whenever I want, and I can’t do that if you’re not here.”  
“I know why you want me to stay and I’m not that kind of girl, Mr. Stark.”  
“Please. Call me Tony.”  
“I’ll call you Tony if you stop making these decisions for me. I appreciate you granting me this interview, but I have a way of doing things, and letting people think that I’m another one of the many girls that you’ve slept with is not one of those things. So please allow me to stay in a hotel?”

She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding as she watched for Tony’s reaction, hoping she hadn’t just blown it. But the smirk that crossed Tony’s face didn’t clear anything up until he spoke a few minutes. 

“Fair enough. But I’ll be paying for it. Happy will take you there and we’ll start the interview over lunch. Go and freshen up. I’ll see you in a few hours. Ms. Clarke.”  
“Violet. Ms. Clarke is my biological mother and she’s not someone I want to model myself after.”  
“Yes. I got that from your story. Sounds like you had a cheery childhood.”  
“About as cheery as yours.”  
“I look forward to comparing childhoods over lunch.”  
“As long as there’s nothing involving seafood. I’m deathly allergic.”  
“Noted. No shrimp cocktail.”

She nodded, bidding him goodbye as Happy wheeled her back out to the car, her bags being put back into the trunk. She was driven to a hotel, the name of which only Happy got when Tony called him while they were driving. When they pulled up to the hotel, Violet was impressed and mortified. They were outside the Four Seasons. When she had booked the hotel room, she’d booked at the Holiday Inn. Simple, unassuming, out of the way, comfortable. She was honored that anyone would spend this much money on her, but she was a simple girl. Though she knew that she wouldn’t be able to argue with Tony again. 

\-----------------

A month after her article came out on Tony, Violet had gotten multiple requests for a follow-up article on Tony, companies had asked for an interview for representation, requests for articles on other big names, nominations for awards for her writing, and so much more. But the most surprising of all of them was the call she got from Tony himself to have her accompany him to a party as his date. His only date. Tony was an interesting person, but he was a flirt and did his best to come across that way. He certainly earned that reputation, but it was still there. She was very tempted to say no and move on with her life. But she’d surprised herself by saying yes. 

“Great. I have an unveiling so I’ll be away for a couple of days, but I’ll pick you on Monday evening around 5. We’ll get dinner beforehand.”  
“Don’t your parties usually involve food?”  
“Yeah, but those are snacks so that people can say they had more than liquor. I’m talking about taking you out for real food. Nothing with gluten, right?”  
“No. Seafood. I’m allergic to seafood.”

She scratched her cat’s head when he curled himself into her lap, listening to him purr. She shook her head. Why’d she say yes? She didn’t wanna be one of the many, and that’s all she’d be.

‘What’s that sound in the background?”  
“I have a pet cat and he’s in my lap. But this is sounding a lot like a date, Tony. Dinner before going to a party as your only date? Is that what this is?”  
“And if it is?”  
“Then I’d have to say no and apologize.”  
“Why is it so hard for you to see that I can do the relationship thing?”  
“Because when I was in Malibu you asked me to come over to your house for a nightcap and to ask me questions about my family and when I got there, you were completely naked and passed out with three girls and another guy. All of whom were also completely naked. And, by the way, you were so wasted that you couldn’t roll yourself over so you didn’t choke on your own vomit. You ruined a shirt I really liked while I was making sure you didn’t die. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t strike me as relationship material. I don’t care that you party or that you sleep around. Nobody is 100% innocent. I’m certainly not. But I put that part of my life in my past.”  
“So there’s no way you’d give me this chance?”

She sighed sadly when she heard his voice, thinking for a moment. 

“This is your only chance, Tony. I’m not saying you can’t look at other women, or men if that’s what you like too, but don’t make me regret this. And don’t go above and beyond with the dinner. I like simple. I’m a burger and soda girl. Not a steak and champagne girl. Ok?”  
“You got it, sweets. I’ll see you in a few days.”  
“See you, Tony. Oh, wait. What am I supposed to wear?”  
“Floor-length gown.”

She sighed and hung up when he did, laying back on her bed, feeling Micah stretch out on her stomach. She looked over at the picture of her ex-girlfriend. 

“I wish you were still here to keep me from doing stupid shit like this.”

\-----------------

Violet sat in the living room in her dress, her hair down and curled, her makeup nice and carefully done, the jewelry picked out with special care, everything planned out to match the dress. She’d been nervous about this date, but she’d slowly allowed herself to get excited. Tony had started sending her messages over the last couple of days, asking about things she liked to eat or drink, what type of things she liked to do, how her days had gone, how work was and if she wanted him to get her interviews with people, how her cat was and if she hand any other pets, random things. She was excited as she realized that he was actually trying. But now, as she looked at the clock, seeing that it was now 8 at night and Tony hadn’t so much as texted her, she realized how stupid she was to get excited. She went upstairs to get her makeup and dress off, taking a shower before curling up in bed with Micah and crying herself to sleep. For the next three months, she kept herself busy, diving head first into work or spending time with the few friends she had, staying away from the news and tabloids, sticking to catching up on her favorite shows instead. She was doing everything she could to keep away from anything that could possibly involve Tony or Stark Enterprises. At night she would just punish herself for being one of the many to fall for his charms. She’d prided herself on learning from her mistakes. And here she was, making the same mistake with another playboy that didn’t give a shit about who he hurt. As long as he got what he wanted. At least he cut her loose before anything serious happened. The only silver lining about the whole thing. 

\-----------------------

Violet was getting ready for bed when she heard someone knocking on her door. She looked at the time curiously. Who the hell was coming by at 11:30 at night? She threw her robe on, tying it closed as she went to the door, sighing angrily when she saw Tony through the peephole. She opened the door and glared at him. Though, when she caught sight of the cuts and bruises on her face, the glare faltered slightly. 

“What could you possibly want at 11:30 at night, Mr. Stark?”  
“Can I come in and explain? Please?”  
“No. It’s late, I’m tired, and I wanna go to bed. I’ve been trying to forget you.”  
“Please let me explain, Violet?”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, standing back and letting him in. She shut the door behind him and went into the living room, letting him sit on the couch as she sat in one of the armchairs, crossing her legs so nothing could be seen.

“You have 5 minutes and then I call the cops.”  
“I didn’t stand you up. I never made it home from Afghanistan. The humvee I was in got attacked by someone that wanted Stark weapons. Someone I was held captive with helped me by building a magnet to put in my chest which is keeping a bunch of shrapnel away from my heart. I’m getting out of the weapons business. Something Obediah isn’t happy about, but I saw what my weapons were doing in the enemies hands and I hate it. So I’m done with weapons. I was gonna hold a press conference, but I had to see you first. I know you won’t wanna forgive me, and I’m not expecting me to. I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t stand you up. I was looking forward to our date. I wanted to see your dress and whatever you’d decided to do with your hair. I wanted to dance with you at the party. Admittedly, I wanted to get you tipsy enough to make out with me at the end of the night so I could impress you by pulling away and not pushing you into sex. I was looking forward to seeing you. But I’m sure you hate me, so I figured that wouldn’t happen again no matter how hard I begged. So I’m not gonna beg. I just had to tell you that I needed to see you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you while I was there. I dreamt about you. Not in a dirty way, but in an I didn’t know I’d ever see you or anyone else I knew ever again kind of way. I want you at the press conference tomorrow, but I’ll get it if you don’t want to.”

She watched him get up, not knowing what to say. When she didn’t say anything, she could see him take it as her not saying that she hated him, and he started to leave. She reached up to grab his hand, not letting him go. 

“Is Happy outside?”  
“Yeah. Why?”  
“Send him home. You can sleep in the guest room. I think I have some pajamas you can wear for the night. I usually make french toast out of banana bread from the bakery down the street on Saturday mornings as the main part of a big breakfast. Since I didn’t think to reach out, we’ll blame this one on past hurt and pretend it didn’t happen. Why don’t you stay for breakfast?”

She watched him smile and led him to the guest room, getting him some clothes that one of her friends left behind the last time he stayed over, handing them to him. 

“You and Marcus look to be about the same size. Shower’s through there and there’s travel size body wash in the linen closet that I keep for guests. Use whatever you need. Do you want some water?”  
“No, thanks. But thanks for letting me stay. You sure you don’t want me in your bed?”

She rolled her eyes as he smirked. 

“Keep it up and I’ll karate chop you in the balls, Stark.”  
“Worth a try.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked at him. 

“Did you get checked out at the hospital?”  
“Yeah, I did. They’re worried about the thing keeping the shrapnel away from my heart, but other than that, I’m healthy.”  
“Are you gonna be ok?”  
“Yeah. I’ll think of a way to fix myself and I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry about me.”

She nodded, letting him shower. She laid in bed before going over to him when she heard the shower stop. She took his hand once he was dressed for bed, leading him to her bed, climbing into bed with him. 

“Don’t read anything into this, Tony. It’s just for tonight. And just because you look sad.”


	2. Bare Ice

Violet walked into Tony’s house with leftovers from her lunch with Happy. She’d been staying with him for a few days, the two of them taking some time to just get to know each other and explore this new relationship. She’d already resigned herself to the fact that Tony’s love language was spending money on those he loved, though Tony was starting to learn that Violet was a very simple girl. She had enough money to live in a penthouse back in New York, but she chose to live in a regular apartment with a cat surrounded by neighbors who were weird, but they all knew each other. She’d made herself a family that replaced the family she’d turned her back on. She would take a greasy hamburger over a filet mignon any day because the vendor she went to all the time was trying to earn enough money to pay for his daughter’s epilepsy meds though he refused to take handouts. She would prefer spending a night in her apartment with a scary movie and a bowl of popcorn because, though she liked ballet and would sometimes cover a recital for work, she liked being comfortable in pajama pants and a bra over getting dressed up for a couple hours in dresses that made her uncomfortable. And though he didn’t fully understand it, it was her love of simplicity that he liked about her. He liked seeing the smile on her face when she was relaxed on the couch with a drink in her hand while she talked to a friend. She had broad tastes, but she was happy just relaxing with him than going out somewhere. It was one hell of a learning curve for him. But he was willing to learn for her. They’d been dating for a few months and her birthday was coming up. She wanted to spend it with him, but she didn’t wanna do anything big. For the last few years, she’d spend a few hours with her friends, talking, eating, and joking around, and then she would spend the rest of the day by herself, reading. Birthdays had never been her favorite thing in the world, but she had never been able to spend the day by herself. Someone was always crashing her day alone and make her do something. She was nervous to ask Tony, knowing he’d want to spend a bunch of money on her and probably throw her a huge party that would be publicized. She walked down to his lab when his AI system told her where he was. She was still getting used to JARVIS. She knocked on the door when she got down to his lab, seeing him working on something. She smiled a bit when he let her in, going over to his desk and setting the leftovers down, opening up the box. 

“Smells good, butterfly. What’d you get?”  
“One of those combo plates. There’s a bulgogi burrito, kimchi nachos, carne asada bibimbap, and a really weird seaweed salad that’s good but I don’t know what’s in it. I figured you’d wanna try. The kimchi nachos are my favorite. You almost didn’t get any.”

She smiled as she kissed him, watching him dig in. Lunch out was Happy’s early birthday gift to her, and she had a lot of fun. She sat down and giggled softly when DUM-E poked her shoulder. She pet its claw, laughing a little harder when it squealed mechanically and zoomed away. 

“How did you manage to make a mechanical puppy without it being one of those weird robot dogs?”  
“I don’t know, but I’m tempted to scrap it.”  
“Don’t. It’s so cute.”

She smiled and shook her head before looking back at him when he got her attention. 

“So, your birthday’s coming up, right? Do you know what you wanna do? Because I have a few ideas.”  
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I’m sure you have a huge party planned, but I was hoping I could convince you to not throw one. I usually spend my birthday the same way because that’s what I like to do.”  
“How do you spend your birthday?”  
“My friends come over for a few hours and then I spend the rest of the day alone. It sounds sad and pathetic, but that’s how I like to spend my birthday. I’ve been spending my birthdays alone since I was a kid. It was weird for me to spend my birthday with someone else but I’ve gotten used to being alone. And I know you probably have things planned, but I wanna spend the day with you and my friends. That’s it. Nothing extravagant, nothing crazy, just small and intimate. Please?”  
“But I wanna throw you the big party. You should be celebrated.”

She sighed softly and nodded, not wanting to argue. It was one day that never really meant much to her, so she could give him this. She looked down at a magazine that caught her eye. It had the two articles she’d done on a couple that had just gotten married. One article about her life and the other about his life. It was definitely a puff piece, but they were fun to write. 

“How about this? We have the big party this weekend, let people celebrate you. We’ll invite your friends and get them drunk, get a band to play, the whole nine yards. But on your actual birthday, it’ll just be us. I’ll take you out for dinner, we’ll go to a movie, or whatever you wanna do. Just the two of us. What do you say, butterfly?”

She smiled up at him, seeing him put the now empty container down, letting him pull her to her feet and into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist softly. 

“You mean it? Just the two of us?”  
“I promise. Just us.”

She nodded, kissing him softly and passionately, cupping his face gently. She was just starting to deepen the kiss when Pepper came into the lab. 

“Sorry to interrupt. The package you ordered is here, Tony. You wanted to sign for it yourself.”  
“Thanks, Pep. I’ll be right behind you.” 

She smiled softly when he asked her to head up to his room, grabbing the empty container on her way up. 

\--------------------

Violet was not looking forward to this party at all. She’d found out that none of her friends were able to make it, meaning that it would just be her, Tony’s friends, and a bunch of strangers, giving her attention that she didn’t want. In a dress that wasn’t even the one that she’d picked out to wear. The one she’d chosen had been ruined in transit so she had to get another one at the last minute. But between getting one last story in before the party and Pepper asking her a million questions about the party, she hadn’t been able to go out herself. Happy was running other errands, so Pepper had asked one of the other members on Tony’s staff to get a dress for her. And the one that had been picked was beyond tacky. She wouldn’t even have worn this to a Halloween party. It was an incredibly short leopard print dress with a neckline that was so low it would’ve reached just above her bellybutton, a red ribbon acting as the corset strings, and the bottom of the dress just barely covered all of the important bits. Paired with what could only be described as the shoes you’d see someone wear when they worked the pole at a strip club. She’d already been panicking, even after the day at the spa Tony had treated her to, and this had given her a full-blown panic attack. She was on the floor in front of Tony’s bed, struggling to catch her breath. 

“JARVIS?”  
“Yes, Ms. Clarke?”  
“I….. I need Tony….. Or an ambulance…… Can’t breathe……”

She got no response, but she couldn’t focus on anything. Tony burst into the room with Pepper on his heels, rushing over to her. 

“Butterfly? Talk to me. What’s going on?”  
“I’m calling an ambulance.”

She couldn’t respond, hyperventilating as she pointed to the dress that was hanging on the closet door. 

“Ok. Fuck the dress. That’s the least of our worries right now. You need to breathe. So just keep your eyes on me. Breathe in.”

She shook her head, starting to feel dangerously light-headed, reaching for his hands as her breath turned became even more labored. She felt like she was about to pass out. Tony was trying so hard to calm her down, but nothing was working. Until the EMTs got there. 

“You’re having a panic attack, ma’am. But we can calm you down. We’ll start by having you place your head between your knees.”

She did as he said, tears dripping down her face and down to the floor as she stayed there, her breathing slowly returning to normal as Tony rubbed her back. 

“When you have enough of your breath back, I want you to tell me 5 things you can see in the room.”

It took a few more minutes, but she eventually lifted her head and started looking around the bedroom. 

“The TV. The picture of my article on Tony’s life on the wall. The picture of Tony’s mom. My purse. And my vibrator.”  
“Ha. Ok, good. Now 4 things you can smell.”  
“Tony’s cologne. Pepper’s perfume. The leather from Tony’s closet. And the food from downstairs.”  
“Good. 3 things you can hear.”  
“My heartbeat. Your voice. The workers downstairs.”  
“Great. 2 things you can feel.”  
“The floor. Tony’s hand on my back.”  
“You’re doing great. 1 thing you can taste.”  
“The juice I drank before I came up here.”

Her breathing was less labored and she no longer felt light-headed. She leaned into Tony as she took a deep breath, feeling him wrap her arms around him, sniffling softly. 

“Good. We’re not gonna take you to the hospital, but take it easy, ok? If you start panicking again, just do that again. It can be the same things or it can be different things. But you should be fine.”

She nodded, hearing Pepper walking them out, letting Tony hold her.

“You were fine when I saw you earlier. What happened?”  
“I was working the story and Pepper was asking me some last-minute questions and the dress got ruined and then this dress showed up and none of my friends are here……”  
“Ok. Breathe, butterfly. You don’t need another panic attack. The party’s gonna be more low-key than you think. Yes, it’s a lot of my friends, but they’re all friends I genuinely think you’d like. The dress is hideous, I’ll give you that. But there’s still time. We can get you a different dress. Something you like and would be will to wear. Not something that sasquatch would get turned on by.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, letting him wipe her eyes, curling into him, feeling him rub her arms gently. 

“Or, if you don’t wanna go out, I’ll ask Pepper to get you something. You can trust her. I promise that everything will be fine. The party will be fun. Yes, there’s seafood, but everything’s buffet style, so you can grab whatever you want. As for your friends, if you want, I can arrange for you to be able to do something with them for your birthday.”

She looked at Tony, meeting his eyes, sniffling softly. 

“I’m sorry.”  
“You have nothing to apologize for, butterfly. I told you that I’m still learning with all of this simplicity stuff, but I think I did alright for me. My goal is for you to have fun tonight. Tonight is for you, after all. And, if nothing else, you have a shit ton of presents to look forward to. Most of them are from me, but they’re still gonna be great. So let’s get you cleaned up and ready, ok?”  
“Ok. Thank you, babe. I’m sorry I panicked like this. I know you’re trying. It’s just been a stressful day for me.”  
“I can understand that. But please tell me next time? Especially for stuff like this?”  
“Ok. I will.”

She let him hold her for a few more minutes before letting him go talk to Pepper while she went to take a long shower. By the time she’d gotten out of the shower, there was a new dress hanging up for her to wear. This one a million times better than the leopard dress. This one was a satin dress that was a cerulean blue color that she loved, with spaghetti straps, a slightly dipped neckline, cinched waist with a full skirt that was high-low, the back of which went down to the back of her ankles. Pepper had even picked out silver shoes that went with the dress very well. She got dressed pretty quickly before doing her hair and makeup. She was just finishing up when Tony came in, smiling at him when she caught his eye in the mirror. 

“Now that is a huge improvement from when I came in here last time. You look happy.”  
“I am. Pepper picked out a great dress.”  
“Let me see you in it.”

She smiled and stood up, showing off the full outfit for him. 

“You look beautiful, butterfly. You ready to have some fun?”  
“Yeah. I am.”

\-------------------

Violet laid in Tony’s bed, blindfolded with headphones on and tied up so she was spread eagle across the mattress, waiting for Tony to come back. He’d told her that he’d be right back before he put the headphones on her. What she didn’t know was that he never left the room. He’d turned on her ‘sexy music’ playlist on her iPad and let her stay there to wait for him. And he was getting the reaction he wanted from her. After only 5 minutes, she was letting out frustrated little whimpers, writhing as much as her bonds would allow her to. She was wet and getting wetter, her pussy glistening in the light from the candles he’d just lit. He took off his clothes, his cock already rock hard from watching her. He moved over to her, lightly trailing his fingers over her skin as he made his way from her feet to her head. He smirked when she jumped, feeling her muscles jump under his touch as well. He chuckled, knowing that he could say or do whatever he wanted to her and she couldn’t do anything about it. Unless she safeworded, otherwise, she was under his control. It was a powerful thing that was heightened by the fact that she trusted him enough to do this. He lifted one ear of the headphones, looking down at her. 

“Do you remember your safeword?”  
“Avocado.”  
“Just making sure. Lay back and enjoy.”  
“Before you start, will you kiss me? Please?”  
“Anything for you, butterfly.”

She kissed him back when he bent down, the kiss deep and slow and passionate, making her toes curl from the passion she felt alone. She moaned into the kiss when she felt his fingers gliding easily over her clit, shifting her legs a bit as his fingertips ghosted over her. She was buzzing with anticipation and, while she was thankful for any touch, the light touching wasn’t doing it for her. She needed him to touch her. 

“Please, Tony? I need you to touch me.”

He smirked and pressed his fingers against her clit, watching as she pushed her hips into his hand, rubbing gently and slowly. He picked up speed when she started bucking her hips and whimpering. He started moving his fingers down to her entrance, dipping them into her up to the first knuckle before pulling back out and going to circle her clit a few times before doing it again. He kept doing that until she told him that she was gonna cum, pulling away completely. He chuckled when she whimpered, placing his fingers against her lips, silently asking her to open her mouth, letting her taste herself. He went to grab the toys he was gonna use on her, coming back and setting them up on the bed next to her. He plugged in the wand but didn’t turn it on, looking them over before deciding which one to use. He’d decided to go with the butt plug first, putting some lube on the toy and a little more on her ass, slowly pressing it into her. He fed it into her slowly to give her the opportunity to get used to it. It didn’t take but a minute to get the whole thing into her, and she relaxed once it was. He smiled and kissed her hips gently, rubbing her thigh softly. He gave her just a few more moments to relax a bit while he put some lube on one of the dildos he’d grabbed, though he didn’t need to add a whole lot since she was so wet already. He took hold of the silicone cock, rubbing the tip against her hole a bit before pushing it into her slowly, letting it slide into her inch by inch. If she hadn’t realized it by now, he was determined to make her birthday truly all about her and her pleasure. She moaned his name as he pressed the dildo as deep into her as he could get it to go. He watched her arch into the toy, starting to thrust it into her, keeping it slow and deep for a little while before picking up speed. It didn’t take much to get her close again, but once again he pulled away when she just about to cum. She whimpered his name again, pouting when he stopped. He gave her the chance the calm down again, deciding that he wasn’t gonna edge her too many times, wanting to see her cum. He used the other dildo he’d grabbed and his fingers along with his tongue to edge her two more times before he decided to give in. But he wasn’t about to go easy on her. He was going to cum until she tapped out or passed out. He climbed onto the bed, grabbing a condom from the table and rolling it on before he pushed into her. He groaned loudly as she moaned, feeling her walls throbbing around his cock. Feeling him push into her nearly pushed her over the edge and she had to struggle to keep her cool. Though it was hard. She was so wound up from his edging her so many times that it wasn’t going to take much at all to make her cum. He grabbed the wand and turned it on, starting to thrust into her before placing it on her clit. They’d only had sex a few times, and she was a screamer. She gave herself into passion so deeply that she was always overwhelmed by it. He groaned as he thrust into her, feeling the slow but intense buzzing from the wand and it was pushing him closer along with her. It barely took any time at all before Violet was cumming around him, hard enough that she was gushing around him as he kept thrusting, her juices falling around him like a waterfall. But he kept going. One orgasm turned into another and then another. Soon she was crying and begging him to stop. 

“Avocado! Avocado!”

He pulled the wand away as he pulled out of her, watching her cum one last time. He was right on the edge and a hair away from busting. He gripped his cock and started stroking, getting only two strokes before he came, painting her stomach with his cum, groaning loudly. He gave himself a moment to regain control of his breathing before taking the headphones and blindfold off, kissing her softly. He asked her if she was ok, but she was too blissed out to answer. He untied her wrists and ankles, going to grab a washcloth and got it wet before going to clean her up, tossing it to the floor. He pulled her close to him, kissing her head gently. He held onto her, rubbing her arm as he waited for her to come to. 

“Tony…… That was so intense.”  
“Yes, it was. Are you ok? Did I go too far?”  
“I’m alright. Tired and thirsty, but I’m ok.”  
“Let me get you some water.”

She nodded, laying back against the pillows as he left. She was dead asleep by the time he got back with her water. He chuckled when he saw her, cleaning up before climbing into bed next to her, holding her close to him. 

“Happy birthday, butterfly.”


	3. Stripped Truth

Violet was sitting in the living room, once again back at Tony’s place in Malibu. She’d been spending so much time there that she almost forgot what her own place had looked like. Tony had even made some space specifically for Micah, something she was surprised about, but she was happy about it. She had been looking at jobs in California, thinking about making a change in venue. She liked New York, but she liked Cali more. It was warmer, the people were a bit nicer, and there was the added bonus of having Tony there. Though he'd been spending a lot of time in his lab. For the most part, she left him alone to work. But every once in a while she would go down and ask questions, though things always turned sexual. There was always a huge mess to clean up afterward. 

“Hello, Violet. You seen Tony around?”

She looked up to see Obadiah coming inside, giving him a polite smile. There was something about him that she didn’t trust, but she didn’t know what it was. But to her, he oozed mistrust. She had mentioned it to Tony, but ultimately, Obadiah was part of Stark Industries, which she had no say in. 

“He was here but he left for a while. He said something about going for a quick flight. So he probably went to New York or something. I can call him if you want.”  
“That won’t be necessary. I needed to talk to you anyway.”

She looked up at him, her antenna going up. She put her pen and pad of paper down on the coffee table before leaning back a bit. 

“What can I do for you?”  
“It’s about this thing Tony’s doing. I’m guessing you know about it.”  
“What thing?”  
“His move away from making weapons.”  
“Obadiah, let me stop you there. I understand why you would think I would know anything about it, but I know nothing about it except what Tony told me, and all of that is in the article I put out. What I know is that everything he saw and was forced to while he was in Afghanistan took its toll on him. More than just how it affected his heart. He has nightmares that have kept him up all night sometimes and guilt that he can’t shake. Personally, I think his move away from weapons manufacturing is a good one. But I have no say over what he does with his company. And it is his company. I’m his girlfriend. That’s it. Anything else, you’ll have to work out with him. I have nothing to do with this.”

She watched him studying her for a few minutes, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up as he studied her. She was getting ready to run if she needed to. She started to relax a little when Happy came in. 

“Alright. Fair enough. Thank you for your time.”

She nodded, watching as Obadiah left the house, looking over at Happy. 

“You ok, Vi?”  
“I guess. He gives me the creeps.”

\---------------------

Violet walked up to someone’s house, bruised, beaten, and wearing one of Tony’s shirts and nothing else, knocking on the door. Two guys had broken into Tony’s house and raped her, beating her pretty badly. She was working on autopilot as she talked to the woman that opened the door. She was let inside and allowed to use the woman’s phone, calling Tony. 

“Hello? Anyone there?”  
“Tony? I need you……”  
“Butterfly? What’s wrong? Why do you sound so funny?”  
“Someone broke in…… They attacked me and killed Micah…….”  
“I’m sending Happy to you. Are they still there?”  
“No….. I don’t know. I’m at someone else’s house……”

She started breaking down, leaning against the wall and falling to the floor as the woman talked to Tony, giving him the info he needed and promising to take care of Violet until Happy got there. By the time Happy got there, Violet had cried herself to sleep, passed out on the woman’s couch. The woman went over to Happy after shutting the door. 

“Thank you for taking care of her.”  
“I’m just sorry she was attacked like that. Nobody deserves that.”

He shook his head before having one of the other guys pick her up and bring her out to the car. 

“Mr. Stark will make sure you are properly repaid for this.”  
“He doesn’t have to do that. I just hope she’ll be ok.”

\------------------------

Violet bolted up in bed, sitting up in a cold sweat, taking a moment before going to the bathroom. The nightmares she’d been having in the weeks since her rape had been brutal. In some ways more brutal than the actual attack. She didn’t wanna go back to sleep and return to the nightmare, deciding to get up and do more research for a story she was hoping to use for a story for the magazine, having transferred to the Malibu branch. She went looking for her laptop, remembering that it was charging downstairs. Tony had convinced her to go to bed when she’d started falling asleep during the movie he’d put on for the two of them to watch. She went downstairs, her bare feet padding across the cool floor. She’d gotten to the bottom of the stairs when she stopped in her tracks, panic rising from the pit of her stomach. There were voices that she couldn’t quite make out and memories started to flash before her eyes. She moved her foot to go back upstairs backward, but her foot slipped and she tripped, falling down the rest of the stairs with a cry. She could hear someone cursing before running in, a panic attack forming before she could even scramble to her feet. 

“Violet, it’s me! It’s Tony! You’re not gonna get hurt again.”

She stopped struggling against the hands holding onto her wrists, looking into Tony’s eyes with fear in her own. 

“5 things you can see, butterfly.”

She looked around the room too quickly to focus, her breathing bordering on hyperventilation. She looked at Tony when he started rubbing her arms. 

“Slow down and look around. What do you see?”

She looked around again, her eyes focusing on the stranger standing in front of the couch watching the two of them. 

“Who’s that? And why does he have a gun?”  
“He’s here to talk to me about Iron Man.”

She scrambled to get to her feet, letting him help her up, keeping her eyes on the stranger, her hands clenched into tight fists on his shirt. 

“My name is Nick Fury, Ms. Clarke. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not here for you at all. You can relax. I’m here to talk to Mr. Stark.”  
“About what?”  
“A group I’m putting together that I call the Avengers. I think he would be a great asset to the Avenger Initiative.”

She nodded, looking up at Tony when he tapped her chin gently to get her attention, starting to relax a little in his arms. 

“Why don’t you go make yourself some tea and then come back to the living room? Once I’m done with Fury we’ll go back to bed. Ok?”  
“Ok.”

She took a shaky breath before letting her legs carry her to the kitchen to make some tea. With some bourbon. She went back to the living room where Fury and Tony were talking more about the Avenger Initiative. She sat down next to Tony, listening to Fury’s speech, taking in his words. The bourbon was helping her to relax more than the tea was and by the time Fury was done talking with Tony and left, she wasn’t shaky or panicking anymore. She looked at Tony as she finished the last of her tea. 

“What do you think, babe?”  
“I’m not doing it.”  
“If you say so.”

She looked at him, curling into him, hiccuping a little as she scratched her nose. 

“You doing some drinking without me?”  
“I needed it. Although I think I put a little too much bourbon in my tea.”  
“Right now, I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing. Your nightmares seem to be getting worse. I think it’s time for you to start going to therapy. You need help that I can’t seem to give you.”  
“I just don’t wanna let a stranger into the piece of my life. Someone who doesn’t know me the way you do.”  
“I can understand that, butterfly. But there hasn’t been a night that you’ve slept all the way through. I love you and I love the way you support me, but I don’t want you to be like me. I want you to continue being better than me.”

She looked at him as she thought about his words. It was a lot to think about and she was still unsure about the very idea of herself going to therapy. 

“Alright. I’ll look into finding someone.”

\------------------------

Violet walked out of the therapist’s office with tear stains on her face, walking out of the lobby with another appointment for the next week. She hated every moment of that appointment, but she knew it was for the best. She went to through the parking garage and over to her car, climbing in and letting out a deep sigh. She was pulled from the thoughts of her appointment by the sound of her phone ringing, grabbing her phone and answering it when she saw Tony’s number. 

“Hey, babe. Where are you?”  
“Flying home. How’d the appointment go, butterfly?”  
“Horrible. It’s awful having to relive it again.”  
“But do you feel any better for having talked about it?”  
“Yes and no.”  
“I know it’s hard, and it won’t get any easier for a while, but this is……”  
“Good for me. I know it is. But every time I think about it, I end up in that headspace again and I start panicking. I mean, she had to hold my hair while I threw up because I panicked so much. I have another appointment next week so we can talk about it more. I don’t wanna do this, Tony.”  
“I know. But you need to. It’ll help you.”

She sighed again, laying her head on the steering wheel. 

“I just wanna go home and forget about this whole day.”  
“I can give you something to distract you with. Something you’ll find fun. But it’ll be a surprise. So get yourself home and put on something special.”

She did as he asked, going home and getting dressed up. She went down to the living room to wait for Tony. but she wasn’t waiting long. She got a call from him telling her to go outside and when she did, she saw him in his Iron Man suit. 

“Tony? What is this?”  
“We’re going out to dinner. And we’re flying there.”  
“We’re flying there? You’re going to pick me up and fly me there?”  
“That’s right, butterfly. After everything that’s happened, you need one night of fun and relaxation. And that’s what we’re going to do. So come on. Hop on.”

She smiled and went over to him, letting him pick her up. She held onto him the entire way to the restaurant. They went in through the back to a private room when they got there, pulling out her chair for her, letting her get comfy before going around, taking his own seat. He gave her the time she needed to decide what she wanted to drink and eat, letting her order first when the waitress came over to them. She looked at him when the waitress left, seeing him staring at her. 

“Go ahead and ask.”  
“Do you wanna go on a trip with me? I think you need to take some time and be happy.”  
“You make me happy, Tony. And I’m not gonna get over this any time soon.”  
“I know I do and I know you won’t, but the nightmares haven’t gotten any better. In fact, they’re getting worse. They’re starting to involve me and you wake up screaming. And there will be times where you start thinking about it while you’re awake and all of a sudden everyone is an enemy. And I get it. What happened is terrible and I’m not expecting you to get better overnight, but you don’t smile anymore and on the off chance you do, it’s not real. You don’t laugh. I miss it. So maybe you need a change of venue. I remember you saying something about Hawaii, so I was gonna take you. This weekend. I can rent a house out there. But I think it would be good for you.”  
“I don’t know, Tony. It’s so sudden.”

She watched as Tony went over to her side of the table, letting him take her hand. 

“If you really don’t wanna go, I’m not gonna force you. But you haven’t really left the house since it happened and it happened in the house. You went through a real trauma and I am always going to be here for you, but staying in the house that’s a constant reminder of what happened can’t be good for you. And I can’t imagine your therapist would disagree with me. I think you need this.”


End file.
